1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a marine light mounting system and a method for producing such a system.
2. Background Art
Owners and operators of watercraft are well aware of the desirability of having a reliable source of light on their vehicle. Bow and stern lights are often required by law; however, these types of lights are primarily used so that operators of other marine vehicles can see approaching vessels, and navigate accordingly. These types of navigation lights do little to aid the vehicle operator to see objects in low visibility conditions. Indeed, fishermen often operate their vehicles before sunrise or after sunset, and are in need of reliable lights for a variety of reasons.
In addition to aiding fishermen, a reliable source of light can be valuable to non-fishermen as well. For example, many boats are trailered to and from a launching facility, rather than being kept in a boat slip or stored at a marina. In such cases, the boats are often launched into or removed from the water in the earlier morning hours or late at night. Thus, having a reliable source of light for a boat may provide a significant benefit in these situations.
One example of a marine lamp is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,807 issued to Perkins on 13 Oct. 1959. Perkins describes a marine lamp that has a support frame that can be mounted on the hull or various other locations on a boat. The marine lamp described in Perkins is configured to protect the electrical connections from the ambient corrosive influences of the marine environment. For example, the housing includes a gasket and a threaded cap, each of which has an aperture therethrough to receive an electrical wire connected to the lamp. Tightening the cap causes the gasket to contact the electrical wire, thereby sealing off the lamp fixture from the ambient environment.
One limitation of the marine lamp described in Perkins is the need to electrically disconnect the conductor wire from either the lamp or its power source in order to feed the conductor wire through the openings in the cap and gasket. Because the housing provides the attachment to the marine vehicle, changing the orientation of the attachment necessarily changes the orientation of the lamp. For example, there may be areas on a boat where the housing will only fit in one direction, and yet it may be desirable to have the light shine in a different direction. This is not possible with the Perkins design, since it is the light housing that attaches directly to the boat. Even if it were possible, however, changing the orientation of the light vis-à-vis the housing would require electrically disconnecting the conductor wire from either the light fixture or the power source. Such an operation may be time consuming and difficult, assuming it can be performed at all.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a marine light mounting system, and a method for producing such a system, that includes a support structure separate from the lamp housing. Such a system could allow the support structure to be mounted with different orientations—i.e., turned 180°—without changing the direction of the light. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide such a support structure that would allow lights to be attached and detached without having to electrically disconnect them from either the light fixture or the power source.